Self Improvement via your tape recorder ! (Food for thought)

This is a topic I get into at clinics and workshops , and I thought I'd share it here. Check it out .Hope it helps- Tim Price

.. PERSONAL SELF IMPROVEMENT VIA YOUR TAPE RECORDER ...

There is always room for improvement , no matter who you are. If you're in the early stages of your career as a musician, you've got a lot of room to grow. If you've been playing for a long time, there are still ways for you to refine your skills to be the saxophonist you want to be.

The one way to improve your playing is to tape your gig and * listen * to_ what_ YOU played .

REHEARSING , GIGS AND JAMS....

Many times during performance the energy is high. There are a lot of things you are consciously and subconsciously concentrating on at one time. Things like.... - Playing the song - Listening to the players that are playing with you - Paying attention to the audience - What song is coming up next. How are you going to play on it. - Cuing players for song or solos and endings - Your next solo - Ya probably shouldn't of had that last double tequila !!! haha ! - That beautiful babe alone at the front table , .

Some of this stuff can be conscious, and some of it is - taken care of by your subconscious.It ts stuff that is taking up part of your attention during performance.

- By taping your gig, the tape recorder acts like radar -ear that is listening to every note you play. Then when you've got a clear head you can listen back to the tape and listen to how well you are playing everything etc.

Try to get a 'direct-line-out' recording off the mixing board. That always gives you a clean recording . OR , just place a small tape recorder somewhere so you can record a fairly clear mix of your band.

Even though you are primarily taping to hear yourself, hearing how your playing with the rest of the band is of extreme importance to improving as a saxophonist.

LISTEN FOR.....

There are several things taping can help you with. Here is a list things you can listen for to find ways you can improve upon your playing:

- Volume: Are you too loud? to soft ? Where is YOUR pitch ?

- Note Choice , are you playing what you want and what you hear ...OR...just blowing ?? - Does what you are playing fit with what everyone else is doing ? - Your Tone: Are you getting the tone you hear ? IS YOUR TONE..the same as when your at home ?

There is other stuff you can listen for, but this list should get you started via your own self improvement.

............ STUFF TO SMOOTH OUT........

After you've made a note of what you need to work on, GET IN THE SHED WITH IT.Work on it !!

Sometimes, if you play along with the tape of your gig, it will help you to make your playing sound better. Stuff can be fixed via practice time. Some stuff you just need to work on at the gig.

AT THE GIG OR PERFORMANCE ....

Now that you know some things you want to improve upon, when you go to your next performance, make a note of what you are working on . If you want to, you can even write down a list of things you want to work on during that gig and leave it at the sax stand , where you will be able to look at it during the gig.

Don't work on too much at once. It is more productive to focus on a few things you want to improve on .Take your time !!

THE.. final thing I want you to keep in mind about all this is, don't concentrate on things too much at the gig so you end up wacking yourself out ....

Do as much work as you can in your own practice time so that when you get on stage you can still have fun and play and most of all communicate to the audience. Sal Nistico told me once...' When you practice WORK , when you play.... PLAY ' .

Thanks , hope this opens some things up for ya'll.......have fun .

Tim Price

Tim Price monthly sax lessons can be found at : http://www.geocities.com/saxontheweb/Price/ MelodicImprov.html

For sax lessons in N.Y.C or Pennsylvania

Bring Tim to your school or College for Clinics & Workshops. I am a SELMER clinician. Just E mail me for details. Check out my words on Selmer Saxes at :

And DA TAPE DON'T LIE!

it's cool (or not) to find out if that thing you thought was so great at the time was really great, and it works the other way too...maybe it wasn't such a tough night after all. In some bands everyone listens and learns. I have a hard time remembering the little things after the fact, until they happen again the next night. Taping is a great reference for the good and the bad.

Boy is this great advice. I did this, and its a killer to listen to, but what the heck, you've got to be self critical to improve. Its taken 12 years for me to sometimes like what I hear, and I still cringe when the minidisk starts. I also find it helps to listen to stuff you did years ago. sometimes you prefer this, best to keep a record of setups. I record them on my pc, and save the file name with the setup info. Try combinations of pierces, saxes & reeds. This is a great reference. You cant then say, 'Oh yeah, but you should have heard me on the Dukoff etc', you just get out the file and check. I also try listening to myself as if I listening to another player. Takes a bit of concentration, but its interesting. Another thing is to try and imitate other players style, & tape it. The live gig setting its important to have a good mike or you could throw yourself a real curve-ball. Dont use too cheap a mike. Brian